Wintershall and its license partners Capricorn, Bayerngas, Edison and DEA have selected a development solution for the Skarfjell field in the Norwegian North Sea. Under the proposed solution, the reservoir will be connected to the nearby Gjøa platform via a subsea tie-back. Wintershall Norge (operator) has now submitted the development concept to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in a “Decision to Continue” (BOV) report. The license partnership now enters the define phase of the project, refining the technical and economic plan before committing to a final investment decision.

“Moving into the next phase of the plan is a signal that Wintershall is committed to Norway in the long-term. This is our second operated development project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf after Maria, and we are using our experience and resources to fine-tune the concept for Skarfjell. Wintershall is convinced of having selected the most economically robust solution for the field. We will now work closely with our partners in the coming months to design a plan that will take Skarfjell forward,” said Martin Bachmann, Wintershall’s Executive Board Member for Exploration and Production in Europe and Middle East.

Skarfjell is situated in the northeastern North Sea approximately 20 kilometers southwest of the Engie-operated Gjøa platform and about 130 kilometers northwest of Bergen. Skarfjell is expected to yield between 60 - 140 million barrels of oil equivalents.

Using existing infrastructure

Based on the proposed plan, hydrocarbons from the Skarfjell reservoir will be developed with two subsea templates tied back to the Gjøa platform for processing and export. Gjøa will also provide lift gas to the field and water injection for pressure support.

“Reaching this stage in the development has required a thorough technical and commercial investigation into various development solutions for Skarfjell. By deciding with our license partners to pursue a tie-back to existing infrastructure as our preferred option, we believe we have found the best way of unlocking the maximum value from the field. In this way Skarfjell could provide substantial returns for Wintershall, our partners and the rest of Norwegian society,” said Bernd Schrimpf, Wintershall Norge Managing Director.

Several studies will now be conducted before the final investment decision and the plan for development and operation (PDO) can be submitted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

About Skarfjell

Skarfjell was discovered in 2012 and is situated in the Quadrant 35 area in the Norwegian North Sea. The majority of the discovery is located in production license PL 418, with a possible extension into PL 378. In PL 418 Wintershall Norge AS (operator) owns 35 percent, Capricorn Norge AS (part of Cairn Energy PLC) 20 percent, Bayerngas Norge AS 20 percent, Edison Norge AS 15 percent and DEA Norge AS 10 percent.

Wintershall Holding GmbH, based in Kassel, Germany, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF in Ludwigshafen. The company has been active in the extraction of natural resources for 120 years, and in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas for over 85 years. Wintershall focuses on selected core regions where the company has built up a high level of regional and technological expertise. These are Europe, Russia, North Africa, South America, and increasingly the Middle East region. The company wants to expand its business further with exploration and production, selected partnerships, innovation and technological competence. Wintershall employs about 2.000 staff worldwide from 50 nations and is now Germany’s largest, internationally active crude oil and natural gas producer.